Patty Jansma has a BS degree from Penn State and MS degree from University of Georgia. She has 40+ years of experience in life science research light and electron microscopy. She currently co-manages the RII Imaging Cores - Optical and oversees two Zeiss 880 laser scanning confocal microscopes (inverted confocal and upright multiphoton with Airyscan) located in the basement of Marley building. There is also a fluorescent stereomicroscope with camera and two image analysis machines. She also supports the ancillary equipment for microscopy sample preparation including a tissue culture facility. She is backup for the Zeiss Elyra and the Leica widefield microscope in Life Sciences North. In the past she has worked in electron microscopy and supported several models and generations of confocal microscopes.
Patty trains faculty, staff and students in the proper use of the microscopes. She also helps facility researchers with sample preparation techniques and troubleshooting of sample preparation protocols. She was an instructor for the international 3-D Microscopy of Live Cells course in Vancouver Canada in 2010.
Patty is active in the Microscopy Society of America and has been on the MSA executive council as well as active in the Arizona Imaging and Microanalysis Society. She has taught at the MSA meeting an immunocytochemistry training class. She was awarded the MSA Professional Technical Staff Award in 1997 and the MSA Hildegard Crowley Award for Outstanding Technologist in Biological Sciences in 2023.
She was nominated for the University of Arizona's Billy Joe Varney award in 2017 which "recognizes outstanding performance by dedicated and committed University employees for a career of at least 15 years of service." She has been nominated twice for the University of Arizona Award for Excellence. She was awarded the College of Science Award for Excellence in 2010.